Ronnie Brown named Miami Dolphins Man of the Year

Miami Dolphins

December 1, 2010|By Mike Berardino, SunSentinel.com

DAVIE — Throughout his first five seasons with the Dolphins, Ronnie Brown had been searching for an off-field charitable pursuit that would fulfill his need to make an impact in the South Florida community.

With his "23 Ways to Stop Youth Violence," Brown found not just that vehicle but the sort of lasting outlet that led to his being named Wednesday as the Dolphins' nominee for the NFL's Walter Payton Man of the Year Award.

Brown also donates 100 tickets to each Dolphins home games for underpriveleged youth and recently sponsored a shopping spree for 100 area kids around the Thanksgiving holiday. But it has been the dozens of appearances he's made at local high schools and middle schools since starting the Ronnie Brown Project during the offseason that have opened his eyes to the possibilities.

"It was a big help for me to be able to get involved," said Brown, who leads the Dolphins in rushing yards and rushing touchdowns. "It was something I felt comfortable with enough to be able to get out and put myself in the light of the community. I felt it was my duty."

Brown credited Seth Levit, who also runs the Jason Taylor Foundation, with helping formulate the idea to combat youth violence.

"I've been trying to get involved in the community the past few years and just trying to find something I wanted to be associated with," Brown said. "I wanted to do something with kids. At the same time I didn't know where I wanted to go.

"Just seeing some of the things that have transpired in the schools and the school systems and the kids and the things that have been going on from an angle where they resort to violence to resolve conflict, I just felt that was a great opportunity for me. I just took it and I ran with it."

Brown says the weekly interaction with area students has been extremely gratifying. He mentioned a trip to Deerfield Beach Middle School, which has been dealing with the fallout from two horrific incidents involving students Michael Brewer and Josie Ratley, as particularly memorable.

"It's been bigger than I thought it would be," he said of the response. "When I started off, I didn't know what to expect. But the response and feedback I've gotten has been great."

Mike Berardino can be reached at mberardino@SunSentinel.com. Follow him at Twitter.com/Dolphins.